Doug Leach's 1957 Ford Ranchero

Great-grandma's wedding ring it's not. Actually, it's dad's old '57 Ranchero that occupies the coveted spot in Doug Leach's garage. The Leach family's relationship with Rancheros started with Doug's brother in 1961. He had a '57 as his high school car, and Doug remembers riding shotgun with his brother, haunting Whittier Boulevard in Southern California during the historic boulevard's cruising heyday. Doug's dad liked his elder son's Rancho so much that he purchased a slightly used one for himself from Diamond Bar Ranch in Diamond Bar, California, sometime during 1965. The Leach family, including the boys, kept the Ranchero busy as a commuter car, tow vehicle, motorcycle hauler, and occasional drag racer.

Doug's folks eventually moved to Oregon and took the beloved Ranchero along. They used it until it was eventually retired to the south forty, where it began its slow migration back into the soil. By 1988, Doug had bought the old hauler from his folks and soon began the long process of rebuilding the rusted hulk into the eye-catching beauty you see here. Now in its third incarnation since Doug took possession and--around 70 trophies later--the old family truckster lives on in fine style, back in Southern California, as Doug's personal tribute to his dad.